


Not A First, But Still A Shock

by I May Age Regress (shnuffeluv)



Series: Gibbs' Family [60]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Bathing/Washing, Bathtubs, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I Don't Even Know, I'm Sorry, Mugging, Non-Sexual Age Play, Stimming, Tickling, Whump, i think???, ish, there's a tag for non-consensual tickling but is tickling ever consensual???
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-06-08
Packaged: 2018-11-11 09:05:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11145285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shnuffeluv/pseuds/I%20May%20Age%20Regress
Summary: Timmy shows up on Gibbs' doorstep one day, in distress and disarray. (Yes that's a paraphrase of Hamilton shush.)OROne of Gibbs' kids gets mugged and he helps deal with a bit of the aftermath.





	Not A First, But Still A Shock

**Author's Note:**

> Guys, I'm so so sorry I dropped of the grid for a month, especially when this was more or less ready said entire month. I should be getting back on the writing horse soon, crap just happened to...happen.  
> Fun fact: I wrote a majority of this, in fact almost all of it, while hospitalized about...what was it...one month ago? Two? And it just took me forever to transfer the paper to my laptop.  
> Second fun fact: I'm officially a high-school graduate now! I have a whole summer of writing ahead!  
> THIRD fun fact, and this is the last one, I promise: I have a fic in the works for the one-year anniversary of _Gibbs' Family! One year!_ Can you believe it?!

For once in his life, Gibbs was at a loss. He was at home on a Saturday morning, at about seven AM, looking out his door at a very distressed Timmy standing on his porch. The boy was rocking back and forth, from his toes to his heels and back again. His fingers were flexing at his sides, arms taut against them, and the boy was staring a hole in the concrete.

Gibbs stepped out from the doorway and Timmy stumbled his way inside, sitting on the steps only to rock more. Gibbs closed the front door and turned to look Timmy over. Dark circles under the boy's eyes, which were bleary but bloodshot. Yesterday's clothes hanging on his frame, all out of place. Gibbs wasn't sure whether he could smell alcohol on the boy or not, but either way there was something off about him that said he hadn't had a shower since yesterday's escapades. It looked like Timmy hadn't even gone home the night before. "Kiddo?" Gibbs prompted.

Timmy paused in his rocking for half a second, before starting up again. A hesitant hum came from his throat.

Gibbs took a step closer and knelt in front of Timmy. He didn't get a response. The boy's arms were still at his sides, and Gibbs gently reached out for one. "Kiddo, I'm gonna check your arms to make sure you're not hurt, okay?"

Timmy looked up then, briefly. The hum came again, increasing in intensity, as his eyes darted back to the floor.

Gibbs reached out and took one arm, careful not to touch the wrist. Gently, he pulled back the suit coat and shirt covering the arm from view. Angry purple bruises mottled the boy's arm on one side, like he had hit them against something hard when trying to catch himself. "Timmy, what happened?" Gibbs asked.

The boy shook slightly as he continued to rock. "Le-left late," he muttered quickly.

"I know you left work late, kiddo, I was there," Gibbs said gently. "That doesn't explain the bruises."

Timmy took his arm back and pulled at his sleeves until the bruises were covered again. "Left late. Was dark when I got home. Didn' see...didn' see the first swing."

Gibbs mind jumped to several different conclusions at once, and he suddenly needed to know what happened to his boy with a burning intensity he hadn't felt since...he couldn't remember. "Timmy, what happened?"

Timmy didn't give him an immediate response. The boy continued to rock, looking at the corners, the closet, the floor, anywhere but Gibbs. He sucked in one breath before releasing it, then another. He opened his mouth, then closed it. Finally, he looked up at Gibbs again, eyes slightly unfocused, like he was looking at the man and inside his own head simultaneously. "G-g-got...go-got mugged," he whimpered. "There was someone down the street, limping. I went to make sure he was okay, and..."

"And?" Gibbs prompted.

"And...h-he sucker punched me. Then landed a right hook on my eye," Timmy said, waving in the direction of his face. "I swung blind, he punched my other eye, we scrambled, he slammed me to the ground. He got my wallet and I got a massive headache."

Gibbs' jaw clenched and he bit back a growl. "Did you get anything for an ID?"

Timmy, without looking up from the floor, frowned and then startled, however lethargically. "Oh. Th-they got the guy. Yeah. Someone called the local cops and they found him, got my wallet back," he patted his jacket pocket, "Happy ending."

"So then why are you here?" Gibbs asked, putting a hand on Timmy's shoulder. "You never show up like this after a happy ending."

Timmy's face crumpled into a frown. "I don't have a reason," he dismissed.

"I don't believe you," Gibbs said.

"I _don't_ ," Timmy insisted.

"Maybe you don't think it's a good reason, but I'd still like to hear it," Gibbs coaxed. If he was lucky, he could get to the bottom of this quickly.

"I-I just...I just can't stop _thinking_  about it!" Timmy exclaimed. "Over and over and over! It won't stop in my head!"

Gibbs clucked his tongue. "Oh, baby boy, I'm so sorry."

Timmy whimpered and continued to rock on the stairs.

Gibbs' heart hurt seeing Timmy like this. He tilted his head to the side. "Let's get you cleaned up, kiddo, sound good?"

Timmy sniffled and nodded. Gibbs offered him an encouraging smile and a hand up. When Timmy took it, Gibbs felt a little more secure in keeping his boy away from more danger. At least Timmy wasn't completely unresponsive to anything Gibbs did. Gibbs led Timmy up the stairs to the bathroom and sat him down on the toilet lid. "Next part's up to you, baby boy. Do you want to just wash your hands and face now, or clean up everything with a bath?"

"A bath sounds nice," Timmy mumbled.

Gibbs nodded. "I'll start the water. Can I have your car keys?"

Timmy brought the hand still clutching his keys to his chest. He shook his head.

"You know, for all your non-verbal communication, I'm surprised you don't sign," Gibbs sighed. "Why won't you give me the keys? What's going on in your head?"

"K-keys'll keep me safe," Timmy said, his voice getting stronger than when he first arrived, but still incredibly soft. "They help me fight."

"Fight who? It's just you and me, baby boy. You're safe here."

Timmy blinked and frowned. "Just...you and me?"

"No Tony, no Ziva, nobody else. Just you and me here, kiddo," Gibbs explained. "You're safe here."

"Oh," Timmy said. "And...and it's Papa's job to protect his kids...right?"

"Right," Gibbs confirmed. "No one will get to you as long as I'm around."

Timmy released his death grip on the keys,  and dropped them into Gibbs' hand. Gibbs silently put them into his pants pocket and started the water in the tub. That running, he turned back to Timmy. "Let's get you out of your dirty clothes," Gibbs murmured.

His fingers moved through the buttons on Timmy's jacket and shirt quickly. The jacket was in okay condition, just a little dirty. But the shirt underneath was drenched in sweat and Gibbs cringed as he peeled it off the boy in front of him.Timmy didn't have an undershirt or T-shirt under it, for once, so Gibbs moved toward the boy's pants. With a little help from Timmy, those were off too, and once underwear was removed Timmy moved to the tub and was chest-deep in water. He seemed to fully focus on his surroundings for the first time and blinked. "Papa, how'd I get here?" he asked.

"I'm assumed you drove," Gibbs deadpanned.

Timmy giggled. "No, Papa! How'd I get _here_? In the bathtub?"

"I helped you in. You were pretty out of it."

Timmy quieted down. "Last night was scary."

"I bet it was," Gibbs responded.

"When the police got my wallet, I jus' got in the car and drove. Don' even know where. Jus' drove." His fingers flexed. "'M surprised I wasn' in an accident."

"The fact you weren't is a good thing, though," Gibbs said, nudging Timmy.

Timmy nodded, and pulled at his fingers underwater, bringing dried flecks of blood off them which floated to the surface as he did so. "I dunno whose blood this is."

"I bet the bad guy's. You have a mean left hook," Gibbs said. "Eyes closed, your hair's a mess."

Timmy followed instructions and Gibbs took some shampoo from the bottle he had waiting. He massaged it into Timmy's scalp, and the boy leaned into the touch, sighing. Gibbs smiled. His boy had been through a lot, but was still his boy at the end of the day, right down to seeking positive touch. Gibbs poured water over Timmy's head and washed the rest of his body quickly, right down to the bloody knuckles. That done, he pulled the drain plug and grabbed a towel from under the sink. Timmy got out and wrapped himself in it, shivering. "Warm PJs sound good?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes," Timmy accepted without a second thought. "Please," he added with a slight blush.

Gibbs laughed and walked across the hall with Timmy to the nursery. He pulled out the fuzziest pajamas Timmy had along with a pull-up. When the boy had them on without complaint, Gibbs shrugged. "You're all set for a day at home, kiddo. What do you want to do?"

Timmy looked over to his rocking horse in the corner. Gibbs rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "Silly question. Of course you'd want to rock."

With a shrug that Gibbs took to mean Timmy didn't care much about what the man thought, he walked over to the horse and plopped down on the seat. "It's all stimmy," Timmy said with a small grin.

"I'm glad," Gibbs said. "Do you want to take it downstairs? Tony can't trip over it when he runs around if he isn't here."

Timmy's eyes lit up as he nodded.

Gibbs grinned and, with some effort, picked up the horse with Timmy still on it. The boy squealed shrill enough to make a dog howl as he was carried out of the room, down the stairs, and into the living room. Gibbs set the rocking horse in front of the couch and turned on the TV. Timmy whacked him lightly on the leg and Gibbs feigned offense. "What did I do?!"

"You startled me!" Timmy laughed.

"Oh, I thought I was _actually_  in trouble!" Gibbs teased.

"You are!" Timmy exclaimed.

"Don't think so," Gibbs said with a smirk.

Timmy pulled a face. "I'm gonna punish you to the fullest extent of the law!"

Gibbs burst out laughing. "Oh, you are, are you?" he asked. "How's that?"

Timmy stood from his position on the rocking horse and Gibbs only wondered for a second what the boy was going to do, because Timmy's fingers shot toward Gibbs' sides. It was a valiant effort, and one Timmy tried on Gibbs' legs, armpits, and neck as well. But Gibbs wasn't ticklish, and therefore Timmy had no power over him.

When the boy ran out of places to try, he huffed and crossed his arms. Gibbs smiled innocently, before swooping in under the boy's ribs with deadly accuracy. "Ack! No! Papa!" Timmy laughed.

"What?" Gibbs asked innocently.

"St-stop tickling me!"

"Oh, am I tickling you?"

"Y-yes!" Timmy squealed.

Gibbs stopped and Timmy collapsed on his rocking horse. "You're mean!" he declared.

"I'm wounded," Gibbs said, putting a hand over his heart. "Oh, I think I can see a light!"

"Go towards it!" Timmy laughed.

"Towards it?!" Gibbs asked, focusing on Timmy rather than some spot on the wall.

Timmy giggled and nodded.

"You little stinker!" Gibbs exclaimed, tickling Timmy under the chin.

Timmy laughed and swatted at Gibbs' hands. "No!" he squealed.

Gibbs leaned back and Timmy yawned. "Hey, kiddo," Gibbs said. "Wanna know what Tony and I did back when he was an only child?"

Timmy looked at Gibbs and nodded.

Gibbs tilted his head towards the couch. If he was right, Timmy was going to enjoy this. Gibbs got settled on one half of the couch and Timmy came over, sitting on the other. Gibbs wrapped an arm around the boy and pulled him into Gibbs' side. "You feel that?" he asked Timmy. "That's what another human being feels like. You're real, I'm real, and we can just cuddle and watch some TV together. You be as close as you need to be, okay?"

Timmy blinked slowly, before curling up and leaning all his weight on Gibbs. The man chuckled. Timmy was enjoying this more than he expected. Gibbs lightly rubbed the boy's arms and continued to do so until he felt Timmy's breathing even out.

Gibbs sighed in relief. He was just glad Timmy was physically safe at the moment. Sure, he might need time to heal mentally, but Gibbs could give him that. Timmy probably wouldn't be out of it for long, but even a nap would help him. Gibbs rested his head on the top of the couch and sighed. He didn't dare move while the boy was asleep. Anything he needed to do could wait until after Timmy was feeling better. After all, his kids were his top priority.


End file.
